The story of a wife, mother, daughter, friend,
teacher, crafter, reader, cook,
and sometime gardener.
Did I mention I love coffee?

Monday, November 9, 2009

Columbia - Gem of the Southern Mines!

Vroommm - here we are at Columbia State Park in California.

Columbia is a preserved gold rush town in the foothills of Central California. It is not a ghost town but a real live place where you can feel like you have stepped back in time.

The town was founded in 1850 during the height of the California Gold Rush but burned to the ground several times. After the devastating fire of 1857 the town was rebuilt with brick buildings and steel doors which is part of the reason it is still standing today.

Well, when you go to an Old West town you have to take a stage coach ride.

We even got held up! Luckily the robber didn't know how valuable my Kodak digital camera was so I got to keep it.

One of the best things about Columbia is Nelson's Candy Kitchen. In December they even have a workshop on making candy canes. One day Baby Bee and I will have to go do that.

Just look at the "eye candy" (so sorry - couldn't help the pun - forgive me).

These are so adorable for Thanksgiving...

We bought homemade marshmallows, dark chocolate covered peanut brittle (these were divine), and some caramels. I'd show you pictures but they didn't make it all the way home.

Baby Bee even got to do some old time bowling. We kept hearing this LOUD clank and rumble, clank and rumble, clank and rumble. It was a little bowling alley. I think Baby Bee had the most fun rolling the bowling balls back down the return ramp after knocking over the pins.

We had a delightful day just wandering about the town and looking in the shops and thinking about what it must have been like back then. (There was once 40 saloons in town out of 140 businesses.)

Before we left we sat down and had a sarsaparilla and some peanuts at the Douglas Saloon.